Turkey's Demirel lands in Vienna to muted protest

[ozgurluk at xs4all.nl]

Turkey's Demirel lands in Vienna to muted protest 
07:53 a.m. Nov 17, 1998 Eastern 

VIENNA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Turkish President Suleyman Demirel arrived
in Vienna on Tuesday for a three-day official visit oversqhadowed by
his country's dispute with Italy over the fate of Kurdish guerrilla
chief Abdullah Ocalan.

Ocalan, who Turkey holds responsible for thousands of deaths during a
14-year-old fight for Kurdish self-determination, was arrested in Rome
on Thursday.

Italy is considering Ocalan's request for political asylum alongside
Ankara's bid to have him extradited but says he will not be handed
over as long as Turkey retains the death penalty.

Demirel was greeted by his Austrian counterpart Thomas Klestil at the
sumptuous Hofburg palace, where Kurdish protesters demanding freedom
for Ocalan and Kurdistan were outnumbered by police and security
forces.

About 1,000 officers were deployed for Demirel's visit in the biggest
operation of its kind since a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu just over a year ago, the Austrian news agency APA said.

A Vienna police official said security was unsually tight because
Kurdish groups were expected to turn out in large numbers to press
their case for self-rule.

Some 20 demonstrators gathered in front of the Hofburg ahead of
Demirel's arrival while organisers said a much bigger rally was
planned for 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) at a railway station in the west of the
capital.

Some 50 Kurds went on hunger strike in Vienna on Sunday to support
protests in Italy which have drawn thousands of Kurds from across
Europe.

Austrian police said on Tuesday they had tightened checks on the
border with Germany in an attempt to control the flow.

Austrian border officials said they turned back three buses with
around 200 Kurds from Germany seeking to enter Italy at the Brenner
border crossing because they did not have valid passports. Three other
buses carrying Kurds with legal documents were allowed to continue on
to Rome.

The heads of state were scheduled to brief reporters on their meeting,
at which Turkey's bid for membership of the European Union was
expected to be discussed, at a news conference.

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